Stranger Things
by GlynnisGriffiths
Summary: The day James Potter and Lily Evans started dating was possibly one of the strangest in Remus Lupin’s young life." Remus' perspective of James and Lily's budding romance, and the story of how he got dragged into the middle of it all.


**Stranger Things**

The day James Potter and Lily Evans started dating was possibly one of the strangest in Remus Lupin's young life.

Sssspt!

Pssst! Spspspsps!

Remus leant his head against the musty pages of the large book he'd been reading, closing his eyes futilely against the hissing whispers of his fellow occupants of the library. He hadn't been able to concentrate properly for the last quarter of an hour, whispers and page-turning insinuating themselves into the fabric of his mind like stealthy smoke catching on the fibres and lodging there.

He resisted the urge to pull out his prefect's badge and snap at the culprits – it really wasn't their fault that he couldn't concentrate. After the earlier of the events of the day it was only to be expected, really.

It had seemed a perfectly ordinary day when he'd awoken that morning. He and Peter had trooped down to the Great Hall at half eight, meeting James and Sirius there after an early morning Quidditch practice. They'd snagged seats well clear of Davy Gudgeon, who had an unfortunate habit of gesticulating with his fork while there were eggs still on it, and settled in at the far end of the table. James and Sirius had been engaged in an intense discussion over whether the new (and talented) Ravenclaw seeker stood a chance against Hufflepuff's seasoned beaters in the first match of the year. Peter was asking a question about an overdue Runes assignment, and Remus was the only one to notice Lily Evans approaching them. Upon reaching the group Lily made her presence known by clearing her throat and addressing Remus.

"Remus." It was a statement, and he looked up, mildly surprised at the note of determination in her voice. As he met her gaze, he saw steely resolve there.

"Yes, Lily?" She didn't respond to this, however. Not verbally. She reached down, gripped the collar of his robes, and hauled him to his feet.

Distantly Remus was aware of Sirius saying "Oy!" and James gaping like a fish.

The surprise on his friends' faces was nothing to the shock that overtook Remus when, moments later, Lily pressed her lips firmly to his. In her haste, their noses bumped, and Remus felt the clink of their teeth knocking together. She moved purposefully, angling her own mouth over his, but nearly as soon as it had begun it was over.

"Tell your daft mate what he's missing, yeah?" Lily gave him an imploring look, and turned on her heel to hurry out of the hall. Her departure was marked by the snapping of heads and the rising of whispers, whipping through the hall like a sharp winter wind.

The immediate aftermath of the kiss was predictable. The Hall burst into frenzied whispers, the whisperers often not bothering to keep their conversation at a hushed level. Peter and Sirius had stared at Remus in amazement, and James had gazed at the place where Lily had stood, looking as though he'd been stunned, or hit by a heavy object. Remus knew the feeling. When he found his voice, he said the first thing he could remember.

"She said to tell you what you're missing, mate." He directed this at James (for what other mate could Lily have meant?). "And that you're daft."

Peter snorted, and tucked back into his porridge. A grin was spreading across Sirius's face. "Eh? So Moony? What exactly is Prongs missing?" He asked, mischievously, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Remus wasn't entirely sure how he'd made it out of the Hall to his first class – Muggle Studies, one that thankfully neither James nor Lily was in – although he vaguely registered having been steered by Sirius. He had quickly realized that, although he was safe from James' glowering and a possible second onslaught from Lily, this was still not going to be an ordinary class at all. Dennis Bishop from Ravenclaw – with whom Remus was not friends - sidled up to the desk he and Sirius shared, nudging Remus in the side and giving him a rather obvious wink.

"Lily Evans, eh? Head girl? Not bad, Lupin, not bad. She's a bit of all right, if you know what I mean. Hair like fire and a personality to match. I bet she's-" but what Dennis thought Lily was Remus never discovered, because Sirius chose that moment to practice his non-verbal spellwork and adhere Dennis' tongue to the roof of his mouth. Glaring, and gesturing angrily at Sirius who smiled back angelically, Dennis had made his way back to his own desk to have his partner put him to rights. Remus, finally having regained enough of his wits to string a sentence together, turned to Sirius and blurted "What _was_ that?"

"Hmmm?" Sirius looked unconcerned, flipping through his textbook to the section on Muggle vehicles. "That was Bishop, being a prick. You know, as usual."

"But why was he winking at me? About Lily?"

Sirius looked up from a picture of an autobus and faced Remus, looking slightly concerned. "Well mate, I reckon it's because she snogged you in front of the entire school this morning."

"I know!" Remus was very nearly wringing his hands now. "Why did she _do _that?"

A smirk crossed Sirius' face and he leaned back in his chair negligently. "Can't imagine. Scrawny git like you, peaky looking and all scratched up from last moon… don't know what she was thinking."

Remus whacked Sirius with his own book, muttering "Prat." He paused. "I meant, what is Bishop on about thinking I'm dating her? She and Prongs have been dancing round each other for weeks – this is just part of some sort of suicidal tango the two of them have going on. And I've been sucked in."

"Uh uh, Moony," Sirius corrected. "It takes two to tango – what you've got going on is a dance for three now. What's that? A square dance? A triangle dance? A ménage à trois?"

Remus ignored him.

To his dismay, if not complete surprise, behaviour like Dennis Bishop's followed him around all day. Ralph Davies gave him an indiscreet thumbs up in the Charms corridor, and George Perks let out a wolf whistle in Herbology when Lily took a seat at the table in front of Remus'. He felt a brief, vindictive surge of pleasure when this happened, as he noticed the back of her neck turning pink at the noise. After all, it was _her_ fault he'd been dragged into this mess to begin with. And for no good reason. She _should_ be embarrassed. But Remus was a gentleman first and foremost, as his father had taught him and as generations of Lupin men had been before them. (Remus couldn't help wondering if his ancestors had suffered as much for their chivalry as he always seemed to.) However, before Remus could react to the whistle and tell Perks where to shove it, James had risen from his seat and was glowering at the other boy across the room. George seemed to wilt under his stare, and shrank back in his own chair, trying to duck behind the magazine Mercy Bellows was reading. James sat down, looking vindicated, but hardly mollified.

If the boys were bad, the girls were even worse. No less than five of them had approached Remus to tell him how "perfectly adorable" it all was, and how he and Lily were "just absolutely suited". Carrie Ann Abbott had given him a breathless hug of congratulations outside the greenhouse before class. Then she ran off giggling, leaving Remus dismayed and Sirius guffawing. It was all truly strange, Remus thought. He couldn't decide if he should be offended that there didn't seem to be any girls nursing broken hearts now that he was (ostensibly, although not actually) off the market.

In the desk to his left he could hear James and Sirius conversing in hissed whispers over their Snap Dragon. The little flower was nipping at James' elbow, but he didn't even appear to notice, so intently was he focused on speaking to Sirius.

"What does that _mean_ Padfoot? _'Tell your friend what he's missing.'_ What's she playing at, accosting Moony like that? I mean, a bloke's got a right to eat his breakfast in peace, without having to watch all sorts of mad displays, you know? Put me right off my food."

Sirius snorted. "And you're sure, are you, that your complaint over this incident is with the display itself – and not the recipient?"

James blustered for a moment. "Okay, point taken," he finally admitted. "But what am I supposed to do?"

Sirius looked at James, also ignoring the Snap Dragon. "Well, maybe she wants you to snog her, and this was her way of spurring you to action." He paused before adding, "Either that or you've missed your chance completely and she wants to make you suffer by giving Moony what you can't have."

James groaned. "Thanks Padfoot, that's helpful."

Remus was distracted from catching Sirius' response by a searing pain in his forearm. He yelped and found the sleeve of his robe on fire, and his Snap Dragon looking annoyingly content with smoke on its breath.

Professor Sprout bustled over and shot an aguamenti charm at his sleeve.

"Careless, Mr. Lupin. That's not like you." She chided, examining his arm. "Off to the hospital wing; have Madam Pomfrey put some of her burn salve on it."

Remus sighed, holding his arm gingerly. This was turning into a really spectacularly unlucky day.

The trip to the hospital wing actually provided a welcome respite for Remus. When he arrived and Malcolm Arbroath tried to give him a high five on his bad arm Madame Pomfrey knocked Malcolm's hand away saying, "I'll thank you to keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Arbroath. Mr. Lupin is injured." As she swished the curtains shut round Remus' bed he pretended not to hear Malcolm call after him, "Was it Potter?" Then it was blissfully quiet. The only noise was Madam Pomfrey muttering about his carelessness as she applied the soothing salve.

By the time Herbology had finished Remus' arm was feeling much better, although there was still a shiny burn there, and Madam Pomfrey cleared him to leave for dinner with Peter, who had turned up after class. They left the ward with her dire warnings against negligence in lessons that were "quite dangerous enough to be getting on with, thank you, without careless teenagers adding to it" fading behind them.

"So how was the rest of Herbology?" Remus asked.

"Well, George Perks asked Lily if she was going to come up here and comfort you after class, so James exploded the pot of Perks' Snap Dragon, which set the table on fire, and then Sprout gave James detention. Nothing unusual really."

"No, nothing unusual. Nothing except that the entire school thinks Lily and I are having a sordid affair." Remus said dryly.

"Well, nothing unusual for _today_." Peter replied with a cheeky grin. "And anyway, the whole school doesn't think it. Prongs doesn't, or he'd have cursed your pot, too."

This was true. The only thing that might make the entire mad situation worse was if James actually believed it, for Remus was sure those repercussions would be a bit beyond a shattered pot and a flaming table.

When they joined James and Sirius in the Great Hall a little while later, though, Remus wondered if it wouldn't be better to have James giving him the cold shoulder. As it was now, he was plaintively asking for advice and insisted on going over Lily's earlier display ad nauseam. It was putting Remus off his steak and kidney pie.

"And _then_ what did she say, Moony?"

"I've told you. She said to tell you what you're missing. And she said you're daft."

"But _how_ did she say it? I mean was it endearing daft? Or annoying daft?"

"I'll give you a guess which of the two you're being now, Prongs." Sirius said from across the table. James threw a roll at him. Peter sniggered, and Remus sighed.

The arrival of Professor McGonagall several minutes later stopped the good-natured bickering that had arisen between James and Sirius.

"Mr. Potter." The name was introduction, statement, and conversation all in itself.

"Yes, Professor?"

"You'll be having company in your detention tonight."

"Oh?" James looked confusedly at Sirius, Peter, and then Remus, all of whom shrugged. They hadn't gotten detention; and anyway it wasn't common for the four of them to be in detentions together anymore. The teachers had learned that lesson well by third year.

"Yes." McGonagall continued to address James as though the other three were not blatantly listening-in. "The Head Girl will be joining you."

The jaws of all four boys dropped in comical unison.

James recovered quickly. "The Head Girl, Professor?"

"Yes, Potter. The Head Girl. It makes a concerning statement to have both head students in detention at the same time, but it can't be helped. There is no other sufficient way to deal with such blatant rule-breaking."

Remus felt his eyes grow even wider. Blatant rule-breaking? Lily?

"What did she do?" Sirius burst out.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "I suggest you ask her, Mr. Black, if you think it is your business to do so. Eight o'clock in the trophy room, Mr. Potter." She turned and walked back to the head table, leaving the four Marauders dumbstruck in her wake.

Peter was the first to speak. "Has Lily ever been in detention before?"

"Not that I can remember," Sirius replied thoughtfully. "I like her much better today than usual, Prongs. If I'd known she could be this much fun I'd have supported your unnatural obsession with her much earlier."

James seemed lost in thought, and did not reply.

After dinner Sirius, Peter, and James returned to the common room while Remus retreated to the library, hoping to bask in the silence that Madam Pince tyrannically maintained. He hadn't counted on the combined power of the Hogwarts gossip mill, which refused to be silenced by a crotchety old librarian, and his own subconscious, which apparently refused to be silenced by anything.

So here he sat, books spread before him unread, distracted by every footfall, by all the pages turning, and most especially by all the whispers. Although he knew logically that they couldn't_ all_ be about him – it stood to reason that at least a few people had to be talking about which member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team Veronica Huddleston was shagging this week – Remus couldn't help feeling their eyes on his back, and he suspected that, for today at least, Veronica and her conquests were second-rate news.

He turned his eyes back to the Arithmancy text in front of him with new determination. He had work to do. There was no sense worrying about what people were saying; they'd say it whether he worried or not. He would concentrate on filling out his Arithmancy tables. There was nothing else for it.

This single-minded determination helped Remus to tune out all background noise for several productive minutes. Through sheer force of will he did not allow whispers to penetrate his concentration. Unfortunately, when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder out of nowhere, he was so startled that he jumped out of his seat.

"Whoa, Moony. Bit twitchy there," Sirius looked surprised and amused by his reaction.

Peter looked concerned. "We were talking to you, but you didn't answer," he reprimanded mildly.

"I was – er – concentrating," Remus explained, running a flustered hand through his hair. "What's going on? Why are you two here?"

"We've got more important things to be doing tonight than homework." Sirius said.

"Like what?" Remus looked dubious.

"Like going to detention," Peter smiled and pulled the corner of a familiar silvery cloak from beneath his jumper.

Remus stared. "He'll kill you. Scratch that. _She'll _kill you."

Sirius threw an arm around Remus' shoulders. "Us, Moony. She'll kill us. And only if we get caught." He gave a winning grin.

Remus sighed in defeat.

It wasn't yet after curfew, so they could move through the corridors freely. When they were near the trophy room they ducked behind a tapestry and Peter swirled the cloak over them. They had to stand close together and Sirius and Remus had to stoop, but years of practice moving in concert enabled them to close the distance to the trophy room with minimal stepping on toes and elbows in ribs. After several minutes crouched outside the door, though, Remus had a crick in his back, and Sirius was whinging quietly about a cramp in his leg.

"Wormtail," Sirius hissed, "You transform and when McGonagall comes to give them directions we'll sneak in after her. We'll fit better under here if you're transformed."

Peter wrinkled his nose as though he didn't think much of this idea, but offered no other protest. In another moment he'd shrunk down to his rodent form. Remus reached down and scooped him up. Just in case Filch came by with Mrs. Norris, Peter would be safer in his pocket.

Moments later there were the sounds of approaching footsteps and Sirius and Remus leaned back against the wall. It wasn't McGonagall, though. It was Lily. She opened the door tentatively, and Sirius had to stick his foot out to keep it from closing so they could hurry through as well. It was a good thing she seemed preoccupied, or else she'd surely have noticed the invisible obstruction to the door's closing.

James was already in the room, standing in front of the Quidditch cup with his hands in his pockets. He turned at Lily's entrance.

He regarded her for a long moment, during which Lily shifted nervously. Remus thought idly of what a switch their roles were from earlier in the day when James had been the one off-kilter. Perhaps it was a home-territory advantage? This was detention, after all.

James finally spoke, but only to say "Hi."

"Hi," Lily returned, looking a bit relieved.

"You weren't at dinner."

"No. I wasn't hungry."

"Ah."

A lengthy pause and then James spoke again. "You've got detention."

"So have you." Lily pointed out. James laughed.

"Yes, well. It's not really the same thing, is it? Are you joining the ranks of rule-breakers now?"

She shrugged, but her attempt at nonchalance fell short, causing James to laugh harder. This was fortunate because it covered an audible snort from Sirius.

"So what'd you do, Lily? Get caught sneaking into the kitchens? Put knots in Veronica Huddleston's knickers? Turn all of Slughorn's crystallized pineapple to carrot sticks?"

("That's good," Siruis breathed. "We should do that.")

"No," Lily responded, raising her chin a fraction of an inch and no longer looking nervous.

"Well then?" And now James' teasing was fading and in its place was frank curiosity.

"I hexed Severus Snape." She stared defiantly, as though waiting to be challenged on this extraordinary pronouncement.

Sirius hissed and Remus felt his own eyebrows arch in surprise. Peter wriggled in his pocket.

It was well known that Lily and Snape has once been friends and had had that very public falling-out at the end of fifth year. Since then Remus had always seen the former friends give each other a wide berth.

James seemed to be having similar trouble processing the information.

"You hexed Snape?" He sounded almost disbelieving.

Before Lily could respond, however, the door swung open again. Remus thanked Merlin that he and Sirius had shuffled into a corner when they entered the room. Professor McGonagall strode in.

"Ah, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter. Very good. You'll be polishing the shields of Hogwarts' past Head Boys and Head Girls. A suitable task, I think, to remind you of the gravity and decorum with which these roles _should_ be conducted." She waved her wand and some rags and polish appeared on a table. "This is customarily done without magic. Miss Evans, if you have any questions I'm sure Mr. Potter can assist you. He is – rather expert at this by now." The corner of her mouth twitched. "You can simply vanish the supplies when you are done, and return to your common room. Mr. Filch will inspect your work tomorrow, so mind you do it well."

With that she left, leaving Lily and James with very different expressions. Lily was looking dismally at the numerous shields listing head students displayed on one wall; there were, give or take, two thousand names there. James, in contrast, was fingering his wand with delight. He levitated a rag and dipped it into the polish. ("Lucky bugger," Sirius whispered, and Remus nodded.)

"James, we musn't. Professor McGonagall said we shouldn't use magic." Lily's voice halted the progress of James' rag towards the shields. He turned to face her, the rag bobbing suspended in mid-air.

"No, she said it wasn't _customary_ to use magic. And if she didn't want us to use magic, she'd have taken our wands," he corrected.

"She would have?" Lily looked doubtful.

"She would have." James replied firmly. "Who's the detention expert here anyway?"

Peter seemed to be shaking in Remus' pocket. Could rats laugh?

Lily smiled a bit. "Well, I guess you would know." And she directed her wand at the rags and polish as well. Soon the room was filled with the soft squeaking of fabric and polish on brass.

"So you hexed Snape," James said it casually, conversationally, but even across the room Remus could see Lily stiffen.

"Yes."

"Why?"

For several long moments Remus was sure she wouldn't answer, sure she'd tell James it was none of his business and to stop being a nosy prat. But then she opened her mouth and didn't say any of those things.

"He – Severus – saw me this morning. With Remus."

Fortunately the polishing sounds muffled Remus' gasp when Sirius stepped purposefully on his toes. James, in a feat of seldomly displayed self-control, remained silent, waiting for Lily to continue. She did.

"He was saying all sorts of things. Asking questions. Are we dating? What was I thinking? And then making insinuations… and there were people all around, James!" Now there was a note of justification in her voice. "I couldn't let them hear what he was saying about Remus. Especially because…" She trailed off, looking miserable.

"Especially because?" James prompted.

"Especially because it's true." It was barely more than a whisper, but it took Remus' breath away. He didn't need Sirius' pressure on his foot to keep his silence – there was no air left in his lungs to gasp. An icy dread filled his gut. She knew. He could see that James suspected this as well.

"What's true, Lily?" He was staring at her face, his expression intense. And Lily, to her credit Remus thought, did not look away.

"That Remus is – a werewolf." She looked apologetic to have said it aloud, and glanced nervously around as though someone might have heard.

Remus nearly laughed at the ridiculous staging of it. The people who were overhearing - although Lily could not see them - were the only ones who he could afford to hear it. Thank God.

"Lily –" James began warily, but she cut him off.

"No, James. It's okay. I won't say anything; I haven't yet and I've known for years now. Severus was suspicious at first and he told me, and then I started watching. I mean, it's not too hard to figure out once you know what you're looking for, is it? But most people aren't looking so they don't notice. I don't know anyone else who knows – I mean except for the three of you, I assume. And I won't say anything. I'd never do that to Remus. But Severus – I don't know. He hates you four, James, and I won't always be there to hex him, will I?..." She was babbling, and kept talking by sheer dint of nervous energy until James clapped a hand over her mouth. She looked both surprised and affronted.

"Lily, it's okay. Dumbledore has a deal with Snape. I'll speak to him. And I know you wouldn't tell anyone about Remus. I just – didn't know that you knew." He was still staring at her intensely, but a smile was quirking the corners of his mouth. He let his hand fall to her chin.

Remus was feeling very uncomfortable. Sirius nudged him in the ribs, and Remus nudged him back.

"James…" Lily didn't seem to have anything to say beyond his name, though, and she lapsed into silence. She seemed unsure and began to shift her weight again. James, however, appeared to be getting more confident the longer they stood there. His smile widened, his head dipped, and then he was kissing her, one hand on her cheek and the other cradling the back of her neck. Lily made a noise in her throat that might have been dismay, but then she put her arms around his neck, tentatively at first and then tightening. After several uncomfortable moments (for Remus, at least), Lily pulled back. She smiled.

"So, Remus told you what you were missing then?"

James grinned at her. "Nah. I always knew what I was missing." And then he kissed her again.

Remus shut his eyes, feeling intrusive. He could feel Peter squirming in his pocket and he wondered how on earth they were going to get out of there. Waiting for James and Lily to leave was very awkward, and on top of everything his leg was falling asleep.

Apparently it was getting to Sirius, too, because suddenly he shouted "Oy! Get a room, you two!"

The noise startled Remus. Between his sleeping leg and his closed eyes, he wasn't very balanced and he toppled over. As Remus fell out from under the cloak, all hell broke loose. James and Sirius were shouting and Lily looked momentarily frozen. She came-to quickly, though and pulled her wand, firing a _Petrificus Totalis_ at Sirius. He froze immediately.

She approached him slowly and Remus was amused to see, from his spot on the floor that, though he was so much taller, Sirius' eyes widened as she came.

"Are you spying on me, Sirius Black?" Her tone was soft, almost dangerous.

Sirius looked pointedly down at his mouth and Lily waved her wand, freeing his jaw so he could speak.

"Well, Lily," He began, his eyes sparking as if it was all a brilliant prank, "You put on such a good show at breakfast. I guess I've become a fan." Lily flushed a bit, but she didn't look away from his gaze.

Remus found himself being hauled to his feet by James, who was looking significantly at his pocket, which was twitching. Remus nodded once in acknowledgement.

"A fan, Sirius? I'm flattered." Lily was smirking now, and Remus thought how similar she and Sirius looked in that moment, all their physical differences aside.

"So now that we've established our mutual admiration, Miss Evans, if you'll just let me go Moony and I will be on our way and let you and Prongs get back to…"

"Oh no, Mr. Black. In spite of our 'mutual admiration', what kind of Head Girl would I be if I didn't give you detention for being-" she checked her wrist-watch, "out after curfew?"

Sirius laughed. "Well, the kind of Head Girl who's in detention herself, I reckon. It'd be a bit hypocritical, wouldn't it?" He chuckled as Lily's eyes widened.

"I… forgot." She waved her wand and lifted the spell that was still holding him in place.

"Don't worry," Sirius reassured, "Happens to the best of us. James makes me forget that I'm in detention, too."

Lily looked indignant, but then she began to snicker.

"Oh, get out of here, Black." She swatted his shoulder. "You too, Remus. We've got a detention to be getting on with."

"Ah, yes. Detention," Sirius said sagely, "Is that what they're calling it these days?" He dodged a blow from Lily. "Prongs," He turned to James who was holding the fallen invisibility cloak, and extended his hand expectantly.

James cocked his head.

"Oh, I don't think so, Padfoot," He said, pocketing the cloak. "You don't _need_ this to get back to the tower. More of a challenge without it, I think."

Sirius glared at James, who smiled benignly back.

"Fine. Come on, Moony. If I get detention, I hope I have as much fun there as you, Prongs."

"Good luck with that, Padfoot," said James, cheerfully.

Sirius was nearly at the door when he realized Remus hadn't followed.

"Come on, Moony. The lovebirds need their privacy."

"I'm coming." Before he followed Sirius, Remus had one thing more to say. "Lily," She turned to him. "Thank you."

Lily smiled, "For the kiss or the hex?"

Remus blushed. "For a bit of both, I guess. But mostly for the secret." He left 'and the acceptance' unsaid. It seemed to be understood nonetheless.

She laid a hand on his arm. "Anytime, Remus. I mean that."

"Now get out of here, both of you!" James admonished. "I have plans for this detention."

Lily seemed to be struggling to put on an expression of indignation in the face of her growing smile.

"We're going, we're going." Remus said, pushing Sirius out the door in front of him. When they were several corridors away, Sirius spoke conversationally.

"Well, that was disgusting."

"Yup," Remus agreed. "Pretty great, though, isn't it?"

Peter squeaked from his pocket.

And so, in one day Remus Lupin found himself at the center of Hogwarts gossip, accosted repeatedly, kissed, burned, coerced into spying on two of his friends, and finally warmly accepted by the girl who had started it all, in spite of what he was. It had been an exceedingly strange day, but Remus thought it couldn't have turned out better if he'd planned it.

-End-


End file.
